Spend the money on second PCAT practice test or not?

[steveysmith54]

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Advice?

 

[Toomeke]

NOOOO!!!!

Harcourt pcat practice tests are a big waste of time and money!👎

 

[phamttu]

NOOOO!!!!

Harcourt pcat practice tests are a big waste of time and money!👎

Did you take the online practice tests before the August test? If not, did anyone? How were those compared to the real thing?

 

[ASUGRL10]

i took one of the practice tests today...the analogy and reading section seemed ok...i found that all the biology i have been studying and going through rarely applied to anything on the practice tests i have been taking from kaplan, cliffs, and barrons...the chemistry seemed easier than the other practice tests. i have never taken the pcat so i cannot compare the two, but i don't want to spend money on the 2nd test if it doesn't resemble the actual test we have to take on saturday!!!

 

[Toomeke]

Did you take the online practice tests before the August test? If not, did anyone? How were those compared to the real thing?

Yes - I took the 1st one and didn't bother taking the 2nd one b/c the 1st one SUCKED!!!

Very VERY basic questions = maybe 2 of those easy kind of q's on pcat. actual pcat q's much more difficult.

ONLY REASON...and I mean ONLY REASON...to take 1st pcat practice exam is to get feel for exam (if you haven't already taken it). Reading and Verbal are only good sections on practice exam, so if those are your weaknesses, then take it...but if not...DON'T WASTE YOUR $$!!👎

 

[nerv12345]

NOOOO!!!!

Harcourt pcat practice tests are a big waste of time and money!👎

i second that.

you're better off studying the kaplan stuff...at least it's challenging and somewhat accurate to the real test even though it's a little harder

 

[gabapentin]

I didn't do so hot on the Quantitative Ability section...does that mean bad news for me on the real PCAT? AAAHHH!!!

 

[phamttu]

Use the AP Calculus book if Calc is your weakness and review some basic calculations. I believe the practice test was a bit easier than the real thing. I didnt take the practice test before my August PCAT and hence ill-prepared for the Calculus part. So now that you are exposed, use that book and cram.

 

[hmmmmm]

the first one (too easy) is a waste of $$$

take the 2nd one which is harder

 

[Atl21]

i took both of the hartcourt practice tests, they were helpful for me. I needed as much practice as possible!

 

[mustang sally]

I took both of the practice tests and found them to be helpful. They seemed to test different concepts and it gave me more ideas of what to study.

 

[GSP]

I took both tests and then took the PCAT in August, I thought that the questions were easier overall than the actual test, but the tests were still useful to get used to the pace that you need to maintain to finish each section. I timed myself as suggested and ran out of time on quantitative.

The tests can also help you guage where you stand although the approximate percentiles were very approximate (51-75, 76-99) there is a big difference between a 51st and a 75th percentile. All my scores on the actual test did fit into the same range as the practice tests though.